Relaxed Overtime Rule May Be in the Works

The U. S. Department of Labor (DOL) appears ready to tackle the overtime rule that has been in limbo since a nationwide injunction imposed last November, eight days before the rule was to take effect.

The government’s latest filing in the case that led to that injunction “confirms the DOL intends to repeal and replace the final rule with a new, trimmed down version,” according to the law firm Jackson Lewis.

The case has to do with the annual salary threshold required for an employee to be considered white collar and, therefore, exempt from mandatory overtime compensation. In May 2016, DOL doubled the required salary for the white collar exemptions from $23,660 to $47,476 and raised the required salary level for the “highly compensated” exemption from $100,000 to $134,004. It also established rules for automatic increases to those levels every three years.

Since then, voters elected Donald Trump president, and the DOL has taken a much less aggressive approach to regulating business.